Apparatus for fighting forest fires

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for fighting forest fires in which a plurality of large sails are erected in the path of a forest fire thereby forming a shield which the fire cannot penetrate. The sails are erected using hot air balloons and the individual sails are constructed in such a manner that the heat and wind are trapped thereunder thereby helping keep the sails erect.

United States Patent Schneider 51 Jan.18,1972

[54] APPARATUS FOR FIGHTING FOREST FIRES [72] Inventor: James L.Schneider, 223 W. Wilshire Ave., Fullerton, Calif. 92632 [22] Filed:Mar. 7, 1969 [21] App1.No.: 805,150

[52] U.S.CI ..169/1, 169/2 51 Int. Cl ..A62c 3/00 [58] FieldofSearch..I69/l,2;47/26 X,28.l; 239/2, 14; 89/36 N [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 816,352 3/1906 Murphy ..l69/2 1,027,308 5/1912 Bishop...169/] 2,340,370 2/1944 Doyle ..169/2 3,209,837 10/1965 Freedman 169/23,489,072 1/1970 Secor ..239/2 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 538,39511/1941 Great Britain ..89/36 N 7,568 9/1899 Norway 169/1 15,685 8/1903Great Britain. ....169/1 176,187 10/1965 U.S.S.R. ..I69/1 PrimaryExaminerL1oyd L. King Attorney-Hinderstein & Silber [5 7] ABSTRACTApparatus for fighting forest fires in which a plurality of large sailsare erected in the path of a forest fire thereby forming a shield whichthe fire cannot penetrate. The sails are erected using hot air balloonsand the individual sails are constructed in such a manner that the heatand wind are trapped thereunder thereby helping keep the sails erect.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENIEUJM I am JAMES L. SCHNEIDER ATTOR NEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to means for fighting forest fires and, moreparticularly, to a firefighting method and apparatus wherein a pluralityof sails are positioned in the path of the fire so as to create a shieldwhich the fire cannot penetrate.

2. Description of the Prior Art Every year millions of dollars worth oftimber land, recreational facilities, homes and other natural resourcesare lost due to fire. 'Many of these fires take several days or evenweeks to contain. Realizing that one way to stop the loss is to preventthe fires from occurring, great efforts are made and much time is spentin educating the public so that the fires will not occur. However, nomatter how much care is taken, there is no way to stop forest fires fromoccurring.

Therefore, the next question is whether our present methods for fightingforest fires are adequate. Unfortunately, the answer seems to be clearlyno. When a fire breaks out in one of our forests, many crews of men aresent in to try and contain it, but they are not given effective tools inorder to achieve their task. The men generally try to stop the fire bydigging holes and grading roads and just plain hoping that the fire willnot jump across the fireline. Fire retardant sprays and powders are alsoused but these generally are not effective in stopping the travel of thefire.

SUMMARY OF THE. INVENTION In accordance with the present invention thereis provided novel means for fighting forest fires. The present inventionwill not stop forest fires from occurring but will give firefightingcrews a tool with which to minimize the damage caused by the fire. Thepresent fire-fighting apparatus is operative to provide a shield whichthe fire cannot penetrate. In this manner, the fire may be preventedfrom spreading and may be contained in a relatively small area. Bycontaining the fire in a small area, fire retardant sprays or powdersmay be effectively used to put the tire out in the shortest possibleperiod of time.

Briefly, the present invention comprises a plurality of sails having anawning at the upper end thereof, which sails are adapted to be erectedin the path of the fire. The lower end of the sails are secured to theground and the upper ends of the sails are elevated using hot'airballoons. The heat and wind caused by the fire will be trapped under theawning to help keep the sails erect. With the sails in place, thefire-fighting crews are now in a position to bring the fire undercontrol.

lt is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide novelapparatus for fighting forest fires.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus forfighting forest fires in which a plurality of sails are erected in thepath of the fire.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provideapparatus for fighting forest fires in which a plurality of sails aresupported in the path of the forest fire by a plurality of hot airballoons.

It is another object of the present invention to provide forestfire-fighting apparatus in which a plurality of aluminized, asbestossails are erected in the path of the fire.

Still other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from areading of the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment constructed in accordance therewith, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate likeparts in the several figures and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showingapparatus for fighting forest fires constructed in accordance with theteachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a ers ctive view of one of the sails of FIG. I. DESCRIPTIO OFTHE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and, moreparticularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, assume a fire is out of control in aforest, generally designated 10, and that it is desired to take a standand form a fireline in an area 11. Either airplanes, helicopters, packhorses or trucks could deliver one or more sails 12 to area 1 1. As willbe explained more fully hereinafter, the lower end 13 of sails 12 aresecured to the ground using stakes 14. The upper end 15 of sails 12 maybe elevated by using a plurality of hot air balloons 16 connected toends 15 of sails 12 by wires 17.

Referring now to FIG. 2, sails 12 may have any one of many possibleshapes and may be any size. According to a preferred embodiment, sails12 may include a first generally rectangular section 20 which may befeet wide and 150 feet high. Attached to edge 15 of sheet 20 is a secondsheet 21, whose purpose will be explained more fully hereinafter. Anadditional pair of sheets 22 may be attached to the end of sheet 21 andthe sides of sheet 20, as shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, edge 13 of sail 12 is adapted to be secured to theground by means of stakes 14. In addition, upper end 15 of sail 12includes a plurality of books 23 for connection to wires 17. A pluralityof guy wires 24 connected to sail l2 keep sail 12 in the desired shape.

With hot air balloons 16 connected to hooks 23 via cables 17, balloons16 are sent aloft. As balloons 16 rise, they will carry sail 12 withthem thereby erecting sails 12 in the path of the fire. Sheets 21 and 22form an awning which traps the heat and wind caused by the fire therebyhelping keep sails l2 erect.

Sails 12 may be made of any fire-resistant material such as aluminizedasbestos fabric. in addition, hot air balloons 16 may also be made ofaluminized asbestos fabric. Guy wires 17 and 24 may be made oflightweight aluminum.

In the event that a single sail 12 does not cover a sufficient area tocontain the fire, a plurality of sails may be connected together. Forthis purpose side sheets 22 may include a plurality of hooks 25 and aplurality of eyelets 26, hooks 25 on one sail adapted to be connected toeyelets 26 on the next sail.

With sails 12 in place, the fire-fighting crews are now in a position tobring the fire under control. Sails 12 provide an effective shield whichthe fire cannot penetrate, thereby preventing the fire from spreadingand containing it in a relatively small area. By containing the fire ina small area, fire retardant sprays or powders may be effectively usedto put the fire out in the shortest possible period of time.

While the invention has been described with respect to a preferredphysical embodiment constructed in accordance therewith, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications andimprovements may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for fighting forest fires comprising:

at least one, relatively large sail, said sail comprising:

a first generally rectangular section, the bottom edge of which isadapted to be secured to the ground;

an awning secured to the top edge and sides of said rectangular section,said awning trapping the heat and wind caused by said fire therebykeeping said sails erect; and

inflatable means for erecting said sail in the path of a fire.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said inflatable means forerecting said sail comprises:

a plurality of hot air balloons; and

a plurality of cables connected between said top edge of saidrectangular section and said balloons.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of said sails; and

means for connecting the sides of adjacent sails together.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for connectingcomprises:

a plurality of hooks and eyelets connected to the sides of said awnings,the hooks on one sail adapted to be secured to the eyelets on theadjacent sail.

1. Apparatus for fighting forest fires comprising: at least one,relatively large sail, said saiL comprising: a first generallyrectangular section, the bottom edge of which is adapted to be securedto the ground; an awning secured to the top edge and sides of saidrectangular section, said awning trapping the heat and wind caused bysaid fire thereby keeping said sails erect; and inflatable means forerecting said sail in the path of a fire.
 2. Apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein said inflatable means for erecting said sail comprises:a plurality of hot air balloons; and a plurality of cables connectedbetween said top edge of said rectangular section and said balloons. 3.Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of saidsails; and means for connecting the sides of adjacent sails together. 4.Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for connectingcomprises: a plurality of hooks and eyelets connected to the sides ofsaid awnings, the hooks on one sail adapted to be secured to the eyeletson the adjacent sail.